- Record crops and searching the records: digging deep in the archivesHere we return to our case study of Annie Williams, Welsh immigrant to Canada and inventor of a skirt elevator system. This time we're reflecting on the sources we used and some of the highs and lows of trying to...more
- Being ahead of the storm: emigration, invention and settler lifeIn this first of a series of blog posts we're going to share some of our research relating to one Annie Williams. Annie held multiple patents for a skirt elevator (also known as a skirt lifter) that she invented. Here...more
- Adaptive Clothing: What is it and Who is it For?Adaptive Design Details by Unhidden Clothing. The fashion industry is infamously fixated on able-bodies and youth, and does not typically cater to different age groups, body types and cognitive/physical requirements. Adaptive clothing is different. It is designed with disabled people...more
- I spy with my little eye…Surveillance is deeply embedded in our everyday life experiences. ‘Thanks’ to the democratization of surveillance, a plethora of tracking devices are cheaply and readily available to consumers; from phones, smart watches and home surveillance cameras to video baby and pet monitors. Many...more
- Clothing the “Perfect” Mother?During and following the (first) UK lockdown in March, there has been much discussion over childcare. Specifically, debates centred around what the ‘staying at home’ policy and the closure of schools meant for both children and those caring for them....more
- A Time-Travellers Pocket: What secrets do 200 years of pockets hold?Can we map citizens by their pockets? Not in terms of what is IN their pockets (though this is super interesting too) but by the changing shape, position and purpose of pockets. Are there really that many pockets? How many...more
- Care, surveillance & the monitoring of childhood"Naughty, romping girls and boys tear their clothes and make a noise…" - Hoffmann’s (1845) Der Struwwelpeter As a child I was deeply fascinated by the old German book written by Heinrich Hoffmann (1845): Der Struwwelpeter. Although this is a...more
- Learning, Living & Feeling with BIG DataClick, Click, Click, Click. Cut and paste. Jump screens. Cut and paste. Scroll. Click, Click, Cut and paste. Scroll. Deep breath in. Jump screens. Scroll. Cut and paste. Exhale. Click, Click, Click, Click. [This post is by Kat and Claudia]...more
